Tool Helps Envision Retirement

Consumers can input their age and gender and use a webcam to provide their photo, then:

View images of what they will look like at various ages in the future;

Preview forecasted costs of living;

Learn about options to begin saving; and

Share pictures of their future selves on Facebook.

“In a Stanford University experiment, people who saw age-enhanced images of themselves were more likely to save more for retirement, compared to those who weren’t exposed to their future selves,” said Alok Prasad, head of Merrill Edge. “Face Retirement is designed to minimize that gap by giving consumers a preview of their future self, encouraging them to take control of long-term financial planning.”